However, Harling never used his law degree: skipping the bar exam, he instead moved to New York City to become an actor, auditioning for bit parts in plays and television commercials, and working as a ticket seller for Broadway shows.[3][4]

After the death of his younger sister, Susan, in 1985 due to diabetes, Harling wrote a short story and adapted it into a play, Steel Magnolias,[3][4][5][6][7] which was produced off-Broadway in 1987 to great acclaim and was subsequently translated into seventeen languages.[4]

In the spring of 2012, he served as writer and producer of the TV show GCB, which aired briefly on ABC-TV.[5][8][11] In the same year, it was reported that Harling was adapting Soapdish into a musical.[5][13]